A legendary cruise ship is to be transformed into a luxury vessel for the super-rich amid a £54m makeover. The Seven Seas Navigator is to be renovated and see its 248 suites turned into apartments costing between £580,000 and £8m.
What’s more, the cruise, built in 1999, is to have its own butlers for its 210 permanent residents to call upon. Russell Galbut, the managing principal of developer Crescent Heights is set to plough £1bn into a portfolio of cruise ships, the first of which is the Navigator.
“The earth is 29% covered by land and 71% by water, so why do we sell millions of condos in cities and there’s only one historical ship that was a residency previously?” Galbut said, according to Bloomberg. “Why not have your own yacht and share a community with 200 other travelers? That’s what we are looking to create”, he added.
Galbut struck a £177m deal with Norwegian Cruise Line Holdings Ltd for a long-term lease of the Navigator. According to the developer, residents will pay a maintenance fee of £162,000 a year.
Bloomberg reports that the fee will cover meals, housekeeping and other amenities, such as a butler service and Starlink internet access. Galbut went on to say that he anticipates the typical resident will be middle-aged, be able to work from anywhere, and may seek to be based at sea to minimise the amount of tax they pay.
“The interest is rising,” Galbut said. “It’s the beginning of an industry-like private aviation. We are fortunate to be part of its birth, and I suspect in years to come, it will grow like traditional cruise lines.”
According to the outlet, the Navigator should be ready to set sail by the end of 2026. It isn’t the first cruise to be converted into an opulent home for the uber-wealthy.
The Villa Vie Odyssey has been operating since last year and boasts space for 650 rich residents, with villas available to buy for hundreds of thousands of pounds.
